Lawmaker eyes Cotabato City as seat of Bangsamoro region

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Rep. Sandra Sema (Maguindanao) will sponsor a bill next week naming Cotabato City the seat of the proposed Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which seems set to be ratified once results of the plebiscite are made official.

Cotabato City is under Administrative Region 12 but is located in the first congressional district of Maguindanao, which is part of ARMM. 

According to the City Board of Canvassers on Tuesday night, 59 percent of voters in Cotabato City, which voted in two previous plebiscites against joining the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, voted for ratification of the BOL. The "Yes" votes won with 36,682 against 24,994 who voted "No".

RELATED: Tension in Cotabato City as BOL plebiscite kicks off

The plebiscite on Monday was also held in Isabela City, former capital of the island province of Basilan, also under the autonomous region. The canvassing of plebiscite returns from different barangays in Isabela City is still underway.

Sema and her spouse, Datu Muslimin, former mayor of Cotabato City and senior leader of one of the two groups in the Moro National Liberation Front, campaigned extensively for the ratification of the BOL.

"I will introduce a bill on Monday (January 28) that would set Cotabato City as seat of BARMM," Sema said Wednesday.

Although Cotabato City can be the provisional seat of the new region and will likely be its administrative center, the BOL provides that it is the Bangsamoro parliament that will  "fix by law the permanent seat of the Bangsamoro Government anywhere within the territorial jurisdiction of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region taking into consideration accessibility and efficiency in which its mandate may be carried out."

Overwhelming 'Yes' vote in ARMM

Except for Sulu, where the "Yes" vote scored only 137,630 against the 163,526 "No" vote, all of the 118 towns in ARMM had an overwhelming electoral turnout for the BOL.

In a text message Wednesday, Moro Islamic Liberation Front Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, said their central committee is grateful to voters in ARMM and in Cotabato City for voting for the ratification of the BOL.

"We can’t thank them enough. We assure all people, regardless of religions and tribal groupings that BARMM will serve them all to the best it can, no persecution, no discrimination. Let us work together for peace as one community," Ebrahim said.

Ebrahim and ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman, separately thanked the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police for helping secure all polling sites for the plebiscite.

Hataman said he was glad that voting in Lanao del Sur was peaceful despite concerns that the 2017 siege on Marawi City and ongoing rehabilitation effortd might cause security problems.

"Credit has to go to the Comelec, to all the provincial and municipal officials there, to the 103rd Brigade of the Philippine Army and to Senior Superintendent Madzgani Mukaram, who is at the helm of the Lanao del Sur provincial police office," Hataman said.

Hataman, a vocal BOL supporter, said he is also thankful to the Army’s 104th Brigade in Basilan, the 6th Infantry Division in Maguindanao and the Western Mindanao Command that secured Sulu and Tawi-provinces to ensure the safety of Monday’s plebiscite.

Maguindanao gov: Let's move on 

In Maguindanao, 433,273 residents in Maguindanao voted "Yes" while only 15,990 wrote "No" on their ballots.

Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu said his office will reach out to those who campaigned against ratification.

"The plebiscite was just an electoral process. Islam is a faith that espouses democratic processes in resolving community concerns. It also teaches sportsmanship and magnanimity in victory. Persecution is a sin for us, Muslims. Let’s move one as one big family," Mangadadatu said.

Mangudadatu said he is also in favor of Cotabato City becoming the seat of BARMM’s regional capitol.

"There are facilities and buildings in the ARMM compound in Cotabato City that the present ARMM leadership improved so nicely over the last seven years. There are already nice buildings there so it is very practical for BARMM to use that ARMM capitol as its operations center," Mangudadatu said.